S537 



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>py 1 

ADDRESS 



OF 



GOV. GILBERT C. WALKER, 



AT THE 



COMMENCEMENT 



OF THE 



Yirgiiiia Agricultural and Mecliauical College, 
July 9, 1873. 






PLAN OF INSTRUCTION, EXPENSES, &C., 
or THE COLLEGE. __ 









'^^^iiht^ 



RICHMOND: 

ENQUIRER BOOK AND JOB OFFICE. 
1873. 



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4 






A 



ADDRESS 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 

The occasion of our assembling is one of no ordinary moment. 
The commencement exercises of every College ai-e full of interest 
and importance to those immediately concerned as well as to the 
friends of education and human advancement. While tlie aspi- 
ration of the student on these occasions is to acquit himself in a 
manner worthy of himself, his preceptors, and his fi'iends, and tlieir 
hopes and aifections are elevated or depressed as he succeeds or 
fails, the lover of education and of progress beholds all evidences of 
intellectual and moral development with the highest emotions of 
thankfulness and satisfaction. All these aspirations, hopes and 
emotions have their possessors and representatives in the intelligent 
audience before me, and should I not satisfactorily demonstrate my 
appreciation of these surroundings, my tongue will fail to enunciate 
the ideas and impulses of my head and heart. 

We have gathered here to witness and participate in the lirst com- 
mencement exercises of this College. With tliis day ends its first 
year's existence, and if its maturer years shall fulfill the brilliant 
promises of its earlier days — if, in truth, the " child be the father of 
the man," then, indeed, may Virginia well be proud of her latest 
born, and, like all fond mothers, shower upon it her choicest 
blessings. 

Perhaps no event has transpired within our State for many years 
possessed of greater significance or of more far-reaching conse- 
quences than the organization of this Institution. For tlie first time 
in her history she has established a College primarily devoted to 
practical education. High schools and colleges she has had; schools 
of law and medicine, of theology and theoretic science of high 
character and great usefulness have not been wanting; but never 
before has there been organized, by her express mandate, to be con- 
trolled by her own officers, a school especially devoted to instruction. 
in the practical industries of life. Its foundation forms an epoch 
in her educational history, and evidences one of the chief character- 
istics of our asje. What are the laws, literature and institutions of 



any age but the visible expressiou of its wants and necessities, the 
incarnation of its thoughts and aspirations? "What were the Parthe 
nou and the Pantheon, the Pepnblic of Plato or the Institutes of 
Justinian, but the visible, tangible embodiment of the ideas of their 
several eras? And what is this College but the embodiment of an 
idea, the expression of a conscious necessity, an ascertained w^ant of 
our day and generation ? 

That the development and prosperity of the agricultural and 
mechanical interests is a necessity to the well-being and progress 
of society, and that these objects can be more successfully accom- 
plished by the education of those engaged in tliese pursuits in 
whatever appertains to them, is an idea which has long been enter- 
tained by wise men and statesmen, but it never received much 
popular endorsement nor found substantial or general expression 
until modei'n times. To-day, however, it is strong in popular favor 
and finds expressii-n in one form and another, but notably in the 
numerous Technical Schools and Colleges organized not onl}" in our 
own but in nearly all the progressive countries of Europe. 

Tliese schools are based substantially upon the theory that every 
useful occupation of man is a specialty — that is, that it involves in 
its exercise principles and practices peculiar to itself, and which do 
not, in a like degree, at least, belong to an}^ other, and that a know- 
ledge of these can be best obtained in a school especially devoted to 
instruction therein. 

Upon this theory was organized the Virginia Agricultural and 
Mechanical College, and whatever mutations may await it in the 
cominp- years, I trust that from this fundamental idea it will never 
depart. Its mission is essentially and pre-eminently that of practical 
education. 

But it may be asked. What is meant by practical education ? 
Primarily, it is a term of broad significance. In one sense all 
education is practical. At least, it is not difficult to establish that 
any education which is not practical either in its nature or tenden- 
cies, or both, is not only useless, but absolutely liarmful. Peal 
education has for its object the discipline of the mental and moral 
faculties, the enlargement of the powers and cai>acities of the mind, 
and the storing it with useful knowledge; and any plan or system 
of education which accomplishes these results is essentially practical. 
As real knowledge has been defined by a distinguished modern 
author to be " an acquaintance with the relations which things and 
ideas bear to each otlier and to themselves — in other words, * * an 
acquaintance with physical and mental laws" — it follows, if his 



definition of knowledge and mine of edncation be correct, that the 
term practical education comprehends within its scope not only the 
lowest, but also the highest degree of culture, the very beginnings of 
knowledge as well as each successive stage of its development up to 
the highest condition of mental and moral existence attainable 
by man. 

The term, however, as generally used, has a much narrower and 
.more specific signification. By practical education we mean in- 
struction in the theory and principles of the useful arts and indus- 
tries, and in their actual application in practice. Of the inestimable 
value of these industries it seems almost urmecessary to speak in this 
presence. Their immense importance is becoming daily better un- 
derstood and more justly appreciated. They lie at the foundation 
and permeate the whole social structure. They not only furnish the 
life-blood, but constitute the motors for its transn)ission through 
every ramification of the body politic. They are the sources of 
power, the well springs of progress, the fountains of blessings in- 
numerable. And yet in the ages jjast Tiow little of the world's 
intellect, how few of its honors and emoluments have they com- 
manded; how much even of the knowledge of them, acquired by 
experience, was deemed worthy of being treasured up in books or 
manuscripts for present use or transmittal to succeeding generations. 
How meagre the progress made in these great — I might almost say 
fundamental and life-supporting, if not life-giving, industries, when 
compared with that attained in other avocations and subjects of 
study and ambition ! Literature and the arts, the science of war 
and the mysteries of alchemy, the speculations of philosophy and 
the struggles of religious creeds, engrossed the attention and con- 
trolled the intellect and energies of men. Agriculture and Me- 
chanics possessed no allurements for the energetic, the intelligent 
and the ambitious. F'ame and affluence waited not upon their 
votaries. The poor, the ignorant, and the servile;, in fact, those 
only followed these pursuits whom vassalage or misfortune com- 
pelled, or whose intellectual inferiority unfitted them for other and 
more honorably esteemed employments. Hence they were neither 
profitable nor honorable. And while at times gleams of light 
pierced through the mists ctf ignorance and prejudice, it was not 
nntil a later and more recent day that advancing civilization, and 
the consequent in(u-easing wants and necessities of man, began to 
awaken a clearer comprehension and a juster appreciation of their 
dignity and importance. But the glory of their complete eman- 
cipation from degradation and their elevation to their true position 



among the most important and useful, as well as honorable, vocations 
of man was reserved to our day. And should our age go down in 
history with no other distinguishing mark of its .progress and en- 
lightenment, this one achievement alone will command ior it the 
respect and admiration of future generations. 

Not only have these industries been raised to the position which 
their inherent worth entitles them to occupy, but another advanced 
step has been taken. The conviction has slowly but surely fastened 
itself upon the public mind that ignorance is as incompatible with 
success in these as in other pursuits, and that experience, education 
and special training are relatively as fundamental conditions of 
success to the mechanic and agriculturist as to the lawyer and 
physician. 

And from this conviction sprang the desire which has ripened 
into a demand that such opportunities and facilities sliall be afforded 
those designing to engage in these special branches of industry as 
will enable them to become thoroughly educated and skilled in 
whatever of practical experience, applied science, or other useful 
knowledge appertains to them. 

To meet this demand and to promote this kind of education is 
the primary object of this, Institution. Its curriculum embraces a 
course of training ample to secure tlie accomplishment of these 
objects, and he who shall have thoroughly niastered all will go forth 
to the great battle of life more serviceably panoplied than Acliilles, 
more powerfully armed than Ricliard Cceur-de-Leon. He will be 
able to hew his pathway to success with a battle-axe of his own 
fashioning and move on to the goal of his ambition, invulnerable 
alike to the arrows of ignorance or of prejudice. He will be quali- 
fied to engage successfully in one of the noblest and most beneficial 
occupations of man — the cultivation of mother earth; and as he 
watches the wonderful processes of nature, the germination, growth 
and maturity, of vegetable life, his soul will be cpiickened and ex- 
panded to new investigations and a broader comprehension of the 
great fundamental laws which regulate and control all things, from 
the minutest particle to revolving splieres. His knowledge of Draw- 
ing, Mechanics, Architecture and ISTatural History will enable him 
not only to build a house and plan a palace, construct a railroad and 
locomotive engine, and manage the one or lun the other, but also to 
investigate the sources of organic life and trace its successive stages 
of growth, its various and distinctive origin and development up to 
a conclusive demonstration that his ancestors were not apes, as Dar- 



win contends, but were rather the creations of the All-Wise Ruler 
of the Universe, and in his express similitude. 

But it is not my purpose to essay an extended description of all 
the powers and possibilities with which a complete mastery of all the 
studies and exercises included in the prescribed course of this in- 
stitution would clothe the student. Nor do I anticipate that the 
picture which I liave already hastily sketched will be tilled up in all 
its details, or be fully completed, even in its general outlines, by 
every youth whose name may be entered upon your rolls ; but I do 
anticipate an approximation to it. I have a right to anticipate, and 
I have full faith tliat ni} anticipations will be fully realized, that 
this institution will fulfill the noble objects of its creation and equal 
the full measure of its great opportunities. It will neither supersede 
our Primary Schools nor supplant our Colleges, but will rather build 
upon the former and add sustenance to the latter. The course of 
instruction in our primary schools constitutes the very foundation, 
whereon must be reared the whole educational superstructure of 
every individual, and this foundation should be well and carefully 
laid before he attempts to build thereon with materials furnished 
here or elsewhere. Beginning, then, where the primary school 
leaves off, the student will here be prepared to practically exemplify 
the peculiar benefits derived from the technical course of instruction 
here imparted, either in mechanical or agricultural pursuits; or if 
his nature and acquisitions incite him to a higher and wider range 
of culture, the doors of the college and university are open to him, 
wherein he may enter and revel in the boundless fields of thought 
and knowledge. With antagonism towards none, but profound 
sympathy for all systems and means of education, this College will 
move on in its own distinctive and appropriate sphere of perfecting, 
elevating and ennobling those great industrial interests which to- 
day engross the intellect and energy of a large portion of the human 
race, and upon which the progress and development of the whole 
very largely depend. 

These are some of the distinctive characteristics of this College, 
as well as some of the reasons which called it into being. But how 
is it sustained, and what are its means of support, both present and 
prospective ? 

One of the wisest acts ever passed by Congress — one which shines 
out from the gloom and turmoil and bloody carnage of 1862, with a 
radiance as calm and jnire and peaceful as the morning star — was 
that which appropriated to each State a portion of the public domain 
for the endowment and maintenance of Colleges "to teach such 



6 

branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic 
arts." But the action of Congress in making this appropriation was 
no more commendable or patriotic than tliat of Virginia in her dis- 
position of it. I cannot speak in too laudatory terras c^f the wisdom 
and foresight which' enabled her, by an advantageous sale and a 
more ad\'antageous investment, to nearly double the principal of the 
fund derived from tliis congressional appropriation, and to increase 
the income therefrom in a corresponding degree. This annual in- 
come will reach fully $30,000, two-thirds of which are set apart for 
the maintenance of this College, and one-third to the Hampton 
Normal and Agricultural Institute, a school founded upon the same 
theory as this College, but devoted to the education of our colored 
population; and right nobly is ii, performing this necessary and im- 
portant duty. By this division of the fund between these two 
institutions its benefits will be shared in by all the people of the 
State, and the principle of separate schools for each race, wliich I 
regard of vital importance to each and absolutely essential to success 
in either, will be maintained and perpetuated. In addition to this 
fund, the good county of Montgomer}^, in tlie plentitude of her 
patriotism and liberality, has donated to this College the munificent 
sum of $20,000. I would that her generous example might be fol- 
lowed by every county in the State, that each might contribute a 
monumental stone to the grand temple which is here to rise, so that 
when their sons shall throng its lofty porticoes and ci'owd its stately 
halls the conscious pride of benefactors may mingle with their 
emotions of gratitude and zealous devotion. These funds, together 
with those derived from the fees of students other than State, con- 
stitute the resources of the Institution and its present means of 
subsistence. 

While these may be sufficient to sustain its present being, they 
are in no Mase commensurate with the requirements of " the life to 
come." The sustenance of the child is unequal to the demands of 
developed manhood. The veil is lifting upon a future of un- 
exampled physical and mental activity. The wonders of to-day will 
become the common places of to-morrow, and the dreams of the 
present the realizations of the future. As the accumulated know- 
ledge and experience of the past aroused, invigoroted and augmented 
the energies and capacities of the present, so the restless activities 
and magnificent achievements of this generation will be increased 
and multiplied many fold by the next. It matters not that the 
anchorite mourns or the cynic derides "the degeneracy of our 
times ; " it matters not that a Froude or a Ruskin should wield hia 



7' 

trenchant pen in exaltation of the many virtues of our ancestors 
and tlieir decadence in our da}^ ; it is unquestionably true that the 
civilization of the present is far in advance of any that has preceded 
it. Lapses from virtue there have been ; great crimes have stained 
the annals of the times, and ignorance and infidelity still hold ex- 
tensive sway ; but wlien were the triumphs of the Cross more wide- 
spread or of the intellect more universal ? 

It is always easier, and, I am sorry to say, more natural to criti- 
cise than applaud, and there are those in whom this disposition is so 
strongly developed that nature seems inverted and their organs of 
vision located in the rear instead of the front of the head. With 
them wdiatever is, is wromj^ and he who has the temerity to step 
be^^ond the boundaries of thought and action marked out by the 
progress of his ancestors is sacrilegious, if not parricidal. For- 
tunately these are not the leaders of our race. Fortunately man is 
ruled by an ever-operating law of development — a law as immutable 
as that which holds the earth in its orbit — and while at times, from 
extraneous causes, he may swerve from the right line of progression, 
he will ere long resume it again, just as the forest pine, bending to 
the blast, when the tempest subsides regains its erect position — still 
pointing towards heaven. This law of progressive development de- 
mands obedience from the institutions (^f man as well as from man 
himself. In fact, they must keep abreast of his ever-increasing 
wants and necessities, or be discarded among the effete rubbish of 
the past. To meet the demands of the immediate future this Col- 
lege will i-equire a more ample endowment. Of course as the 
number of its students is enlarged its revenues will be increased ; 
but this will prove inadequate to the demand. Other sources of 
supply must be reached, and my judgment points to that same 
source whence came its first endowment— the public domain. The 
act of 1862 evidenced an intelligent appreciation on the part of 
Congress of the wants and demands of the times. It was " a new 
departure " from the established policy of the Federal government 
as to the disposition of the public lands, for while in the organiza- 
tion of new States it had long been the wise rule to reserve a portion 
of the public lands for the purposes of education thei^ein, this was 
the first instance in the history of the government when any por- 
tion of the public property had been apportioned among all the 
States, old as well as new, for this object. And it should be re- 
membered, too, that this was done prior to the destruction of the 
labor system of the South and prior to the elevation of four millions 
of ignorant serfs to the enjoyment and responsibilities of citizenship. 



8 

It was done, too, in the midst of war, and after war had ao-ain 
demonstrated the great superiority of an educated over an ignorant 
soldiery. 

If this action were wise and patriotic then and under these cir- 
cnmstunces, in what terms sliould we express our appreciation of 
snch action now, when to the voices of wisdom and patriotism are 
added the earnest appeals of humanity and the stern demands of 
duty ? 

The war resulted in the emancipation of the negro ; but no 
sooner had the sword been sheathed than the strife was transferred 
to the fo] uin, and days and months — aye, even years — were spent in 
efforts to clothe .the frcedman with rights he could not understand, 
and load him with responsibilities which he was unable to compre- 
hend. Statute after statute was enacted, and the fundamental law 
of the nation itself, j-epeatedly amended to establish the civil and 
political rights of the negro; but where, in the long catalogue of 
legislation, can be found any provision for his education and eleva- 
tion even to a partial comprehension of the duties and responsibilities 
which these rights impose ? Why did not the mental and moral ne- 
cessities of these " wards of the nation " excite the same paternal 
solicitude as did their political condition ? I shall not pause here, 
nor is it germain to my present purpose, to answer this very natural 
enquiry. The facts with which we have alone to deal at the present 
moment are that, although the negro was emancipated from physical 
slavery, lie was left bound in the more terrible chains of universal 
ignorance; and that wliile the nation invested him with the glorious 
rights and privileges of American citizenship, it not onl}^ failed to 
make any provision for investing him with a knowledge of the high 
duties and responsibilities which that citizenship imposes, but left 
him in the depths of poverty and ignorance, to be educated, if 
educated at all, by tlie white people of those States whom the war 
had so utterly impoverished that they were unable to educate even 
themselves. 

That this was unwise, unjust and impolitic, needs no words from 
me to demonstrate. In my opinion, the government should not only 
have provided the means for the education of these new suffragans, 
but it should have gone farther and aided the people of the South 
to fulfill tins high and holy duty to themselves. 

If it be true that one portion of the body politic cannot suffer in 
its mental, moral or physical condition without injury, more or less, 
to the whole, and if intelligen(;e and virtue be necessary and desi- 
rable in the individual citizen of a republic, then the education of 



the whole people becomes a matter of public interest and national 
concern. I am, however, no advocate of a governmental system of 
education except by the States; but I do advocate the extension to 
all of the States the policy which has imiformly obtained in the 
organization of new States. The public lands are the common pro- 
perty of the whole people of the Union, held by it in trust for their 
benefit and behoof, and if there be reason and sound statesmanship 
in reserving a portion of this property for educational purposes in 
the sparsely populated but prosperous new States, does not the 
same reason and statesinanship, in a far higher degree, dictate the 
appropriation of a portion of this property to the education of the 
larger and poorer populations of the older States of the South ? 

But I do not go to the length of urging even this very just and 
correct view of the subject, based though it may be upon the 
soundest and most substantial and patriotic reasoning. All I seek 
and all I demand is equality with all of the other States of the 
Kepublic in this as in all other respects. I merely advocate the 
performance of what I believe to be a solemn and imperative duty 
by the Federal government to the black race and to the people of 
the whole country, and that duty consists in appropriating the en- 
tire proceeds derived from the sales of the public lands to educational 
purposes. And while I would devote a portion of these proceeds to 
the further endowment of colleges of this cliaracter, and the Imlance 
to the support and maintenance of free primary schools, I would so 
apportion all as to confer the greatest benefit upon the greatest 
numbers. 

The details of the manner in which this duty shall be executed, 
whether this property shall be divided among the several States 
equally, or according to population or illiteracy, or upon what I 
should esteem the wiser, more comprehensive and equitable basis of 
present needs and prospective demands, and how much shall be ap- 
portioned to primary and how much to technical schools, may be 
safely confided to that Congress which shall possess the wisdom, the 
integrity and the patriotism to adopt this policy. 

As one of its faithful friends and earnest advocates, I shall ever 
hold myself in readiness, with whatever of influence I may be able 
to wield, not only to secure the permanent establishment of this 
policy, but when established, to see to it that the State of my adop- 
tion, which has honored me with her highest and most sacred trusts, 
and whose soil is"to be my future and final resting place, shall be 
dealt with as becomes her exalted position and high deserts. With 
these means, and through these instrumentalities, I shall hope to see 



10 

this College raised to a higher dignity and a wider sphere of useful- 
ness. If, however, from any cause tliese should fail, then the duty- 
will devolve upon our ])eople to supply tlie deiieieucy either bj 
public aid or private munificence. 

Railroads and other public improvements are of great use and 
benefit to the country, and the people have manifested their high 
appreciation of them by freely voting State, county and municipal 
aid for their construction and maintenance; but how insignificant in 
importance appears the growth and development of these temporal 
conveniences of man when compared to the education and elevation 
of his immortal mind? They are but the creations of the mind, and 
why should the creature be worshipped while the creator is neg- 
lected ? Why strew all our votive offerings upon the altar of Baal, 
who is of the earth, earthy, and crumbles to decay, and minister not 
to the divinity within us which has immortality for its being and 
eternity for its portion ? I have an abiding faith that when our 
people begin to understand the inestimable benefits which they 
ma}'- realize from this College they will i-ally to its support, and that 
in time it will become, what of right it ought to be, the great 
popular educational institution of the industrial classes of Virginia. 
I shall ho])e to see the barriers which poverty rears in the pathway 
of deserving youth broken down and obliterated, and education here 
made as free as the glorious mountain air which surrounds and per- 
vades it. Yes ! 1 would have graven upon its loftiest pinnacle, in 
characters of living light, "Whomsoever will let him come and par- 
take of the waters of life freely." 

To you, the learned gentlemen composing the first faculty of this 
institution, 1 tender words of thankfulness and cheer — thankfulness 
for what you have already accomplished, and cheer at the prospects 
before you. The future is radiant with promise. You have care- 
fully watched over and nurtured the infancy of this College; may 
you be spared to guide its youth and maturer years. 1 know of no 
higher or holier calling than yours. The teacher of youth is the 
moulder of tlie civilization of his time. He not only instills those 
great physical and moral principles which underlie the social fabric? 
but fashions the immortal soul for time and eternity. 

"'Th education forms the common mind, 
Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined." 

But it is presumptuous in me, perha])s, to even suggest the ex- 
treme delicacy and tremendous import of your duties and respon- 
sibilities, I do so more to manifest my own appreciation of them 
than to impress you with any new convictions or loftier purposes. 



11 

I know that your duties are as arduous and youi labors as exhaustive- 
as your intentions are earnest and your aspirations pure. I will 
turn, rather, and address those wh(Mn 1 feel more competent to- 
counsel — the first matriculates of this College. 

Young gentlemen, I suppose that you are all familiar with the- 
aphorism that "knowledge is power;" but have you ever considered 
it critically ? Have you ever thought how or wherein knowledge 
constituted an element of power? All learning is not knowledge, 
nor yet is all knowledge power. The world is full of learned fools 
and helpless wiseacres. Knowledge is power only when utilized. 
It is the kr. owing how to use and apply what we have acquired that 
gives us control of men and matter. This is the sovereign test of 
ability, whatever may be oui acquirements or sphere in life. You 
may cram your heads full of the most abstruse knowledge ; you may 
garner into them all the learning of all the ages and genei-ations. 
that have pieceded you ; you may even make of your minds vast 
store-houses of knowledge; and yet what will it avail you unless- 
along with it you are possessed with the power to use it ? Do you 
a^ me what the power or ability is which enables us to utilize 
whatever is taught by experience, by books and the schools? I 
answer that it is thought, and that knowledge is power only as it 
incites, suggests and furnishes forth the materials for thought. As 
the corn which the farmer sows upon the ground prepared for its 
reception must needs have the warm and genial rays of the sun to 
quicken it into life and develop it to maturity, so knowledge must 
be fimctified by thought to germinate and expand to useful results. 
The corn, however, will produce only its kind, while knowledge is 
not only reproductive, but it is also creative. 

As in our own minds one thought suggests or begets another, so^ 
the thoughts of others which comprehend all knowledge, save our 
own individual experience, quickens and incites our minds to new 
thoughts and new creations. One achievement of one human intel- 
lect starts into activity perhaps an hundred others, each working out 
some new success, some further advancement and improvement. In. 
this way one discovery or invention becomes the parent of numer- 
ous others, and in this way are the boundaries of human knowledge 
expanded and the civilization of man secui-ed. 

What a brood of inventions of the highest importance and the 
greatest usefulness followed the discovery of the nature and proper- 
ties of steam ! When James Watt was experimenting with his tea 
kettle and solving the problem of condensation, how little did he 
dream of the mighty revolution he was inaugurating. When 



12 

Franklin tamed the lightnings of heaven, what conception had he 
•of the glorious functions it was to execute for the benefit of man ? 
How little do even we yet know of tlie capabilities of this mysterious 
agency? Wliat we call thought is the product of the mysterious 
working of the human intellect, invisible, intangible, incomprehen- 
sible and useless, save only to their possessor, until clothed in lan- 
guage or embodied in substantial forms. In man's capacity for 
thought and expression of thought, lies his chief claim to superiority, 
and through its instrumentality must he fulfill his divinely appointed 
mission to subdue and have dominion over the earth. Every step 
he has taken, every advance he has made toward the accomplish- 
ment of this high purpose, has been the result of the exercise of this 
God given and God-like power, and its embodiment in one form of 
expression and another, forms the record of his achievements and 
constitutes the criterion of his success. It matters not whether these 
thoughts have found expression in the complicated machine, the 
lofty dome or glittering minnaret, whether they speak from the 
■canvass, the living page, or tlie chiseled marble, they measure alike 
the progress of a people and the civilization of an age. We desig- 
nate an age as Golden or Brazen, as Speculative or Utilitarian, 
according to the predominant thoughts and characteristics of each 
-as they have come down to us through the medium of their different 
forms and modes of expression. 

Ours has been denominated the Utilitarian, the Practical, the 
Material age. It is indeed not only one, but all of these. The pre- 
vailing currents of human thought and human activity are the 
practical, the useful, the material. Their multitudinous forms of 
expression are found graven upon the solid earth and coursing in 
the air we breathe, in the physical comforts and con\eniences which 
surround us, and in tlie general uplifting of the people to a higlier 
plane of social, moral and intellectual existence. No age has even, 
equalled ours in the grandeur of its intellectual achievements and 
the magnitude of its material development. Go where you will, 
enter whatsoever domain of thought and knowledge you please, and 
everywhere you will behold the most unceasing mental activity 
crowned with the most astonishing results; results, too, in the main 
conducive to the benefit, the improvement, and the elevation of man. 
Truly ours is the utilitarian age — the age which is practically exempli- 
fying the doctrine " that the greatest happiness of the greatest num- 
ber should be the end and aim of all social and political institutions." 

Young gentlemen, these are some of the characteristics of the age 
in which we live, in which you are to act your several parts, in 



13 

which you are to succeed or faih Your education thus far has been 
utilitarian. You have been studying the practical, the useful, the 
material. You have been learning how to think, and to think prac- 
tically. You have been acquiring knowledge, the power of which 
you are to exemplify in your future lives. Your acquisitions here 
have been snch as will best lit you for those avocations of life wliich 
you intend to pursue. 1 have already indicated my opinion of their 
high character and great usefulness, as well as the necessity for a 
thorough system of training and education for those who intend to 
engage in them. You will compose the first Alumni of this Col- 
lege and the iirst exemplars of the benefits to be derived from the 
special course of instruction here pursued. As such you may con- 
tribute largely to the future success of your Alma Mater. As 
" a tree is known by the fruit it bears," so the character and stand- 
ing of a College are often determined by the character of its gra- 
duates. Permit me to express the hope that your future will be 
such as to reflect honor upon yourselves and credit upon this Insti- 
tution. Kecollect that 

"Honor and sliame from no condition rise; 
Act well yovir part : there all the honor lies." 

It has been said that there are but three ways of making a living, 
viz : by working, by begging, and by stealing ; and, disguise it as 
we may, there is much of truth in the expression. Work is the 
common destiny of man. In the great hive of humanity there can 
be no drones. lie who does not earn his bread by the sweat of his 
brow violates the divine anathema. No matter what one's sphere in 
life may be, honurahh success is attainable only by worl: The 
humblest artisan as well as the highest statesman bows to this inex- 
orable law of our being. 

You will assume the active duties of life at an interesting and 
trying period. A great cliange has been wrought in our social and 
political system, and the deuioralization incident to a great war has 
not been fully overcome. Fraud and peculation have stained the 
characters of some high in authority, and its infection has not been 
altogether absent from the people. Although a healthier tone of 
public sentiment seems to prevail, it will require the efforts of good 
men and Christians everywhere to elevate it to that standard which 
alone insures safety and stability. 

Judging from past experience, well may the poet exclaim: 

" God give us men — a time like this demands 

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; 
Men whom the lust of office does not kill; 

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy ; 
Men who have opinions and a will ; 

Men who have honor ; men who will not lie ; 
Men who can stand before a demagogue. 

And damn his treachei'ous flatteries without winking ; 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinking ; 
For, while the rabble in their thumb-worn creeds, 
Their large professions and their little deeds, 
Mingle in sellish strife, lo ! Freedom weeps, 
Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps!" 



Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. 



EQUIPMENTS. 

In addition to the college building and lot of five acres, the institution owns an 
•experimental farm of about two hundred and forty-five acres, of great beauty and /er- 
tility, lying within one half-mile of the town of Blacksburg. This farm has been 
well equipped, and the students in the agricultural department will tliere be taught 
practically the most approved methods of cultivation, under tlie direction of the Pro- 
fessor of Agriculture and the Faim Manager. 

The Mechanical Department will be organized and put into practical operation as 
xapidly as the means will allow. 

Apparatus for the illustration of those studies requiring its aid has been provided, 
and a library has been commenced. Both will be added to, from time to. time, as the 
funds of the college will justify the expenditure. 

- SESSION OF TEN MONTHS. 

The next session will open on the second Wednesday in August (13th), continue 
until the 22nd of December, be resumed on the 24tli of February, and terminate on 
the second Wednesday in August, 1874. 

The policy of a winter vacation has been adopted, after mature consideration, as 
that best suited to an institution of this character, not only because the study of the 
farm operations is interrupted at a less important season, but because students from 
the eastern part of the State, while escaping the severity of winter in the mountains, 
will remain at the college during the most pleasant and healthful portion of the year. 

STATE STUDENTS. 

The act of the General Assembly establishing this college provides that '' a number 
of students equal to the number of members of the House of Delegates, to be appor- 
tioned in the same manner, sliall have the privilege of attending said college without 
charge for tuition, use of laboratories, or public buildings, to be selected by the 
school trustees of the respective counties, cities and election districts for said dele- 
gates, with reference to the highest proficiency and good character, from the white 
male students of the free schools of their respective counties, cities and election dis- 
tricts, or, in their discretion, from others than those attending said free scliools." 

The attention of County Superintendents and Trustees of the public schools is 
specially invited to these provisions of the law, and they are respectfully but earnestly 
urged to have "reference to tlie hir/hest proficiency" in making the appointments." 
There are numerous vacancies, which it is hoped will be filled before the second Wed- 
nesday in August, the beginning of the next session. 

PAY STUDENTS. 

To be admitted as a pay student, the applicant must be ajt least fourteen years of 
age; but the Faculty may dispense witli this reiiuirement in favor of one who has a 
brother of the requisite age entering at the same time. 



15 



EXPENSES. 

The necessary expenses of a State student, including a uniform suit, do not exceed 
$150 for the session of ten months, of which $60 are needed at tlie time of entrance. 
The expenses of a pay student are $45 more (for tuition and college fees, $40- for 
room rent, $5), one-half of which must be paid in advance, and the remainder at the 
beginning of the second half-session.* 

Table board can be had at $10 per month, and by messing the cost may be reduced. 
Board and lodging in Blacksburg may be had for $13 per month, which includes 
room rent, fuel, and furniture. 

A plain and substantial gray uniform, costing $17,25, has been adopted, and each 
student is required to provide himself with it as soon as he enters the college. As it 
takes the place of a suit of clothes, it really adds nothing to the expenses. 

At the time of matriculation, each student must deposit with the Treasurer $5 as a 
■contingent fee to cover damages to the property. Any balance remaining to his credit 
•will be returned to him at the close of the session. 

The rooms in the college building being unfurnished, students who desire to occupy 
them, without increasing their expenses, should bring the necessary articles of fur- 
niture from home; but those who prefer to do so can buy furniture here on reasonable 
terms. When two occupy a room, the cost to each is from $10 to $12: but tlie articles 
may be sold at the end of the session at a small reduction from cost. 

The importance of reducing the expenses to the lowest possible point is fully re- 
cognized. A portion of the students have the opportunity of paying a part of their 
expenses by labor on the farm or in the workshops, 

CURRICULUM. 

A curriculum has been adopted to which (unless excused by the Faculty for sijecial 
reasons) every student will be required to confine himself, except that in the Senior 
year there will be two parallel courses, one for farmers and the other for mechanics. 
Students who are properly prepared may enter advanced classes. Provision is made 
for the study of Latin and Greek, though they are not a part of the prescribed 
curriculum. 

JUNIOR YEAR. 

First Half Session. — Arithmetic, English Grammar, Geography, French or Ger- 
man, Physics, Latin and Greek (optional), Weekly Compositions. 

Second Half Session. — Algebra,, English Grannnar, English Composition, French 
or German, Physics, Latin and Greek (optional). Weekly Compositions. 

intermediate year. 




History, English Literature, French or German, Latin and Greek (optional 
through the course). 

second year. 
First Half Session — For Farmers. — Algebra, Conic Sections, Agriculture, History 
English Literature, Moral Philosopliy, Book-keeping, Astronomy. 

For Mechanici<. — Algebra, Conic Sections, Mechanics, Mechanical Drawing 
History, English Literature, Moral Philosophy, Book-keeping, Aslronomv. 
Second Half Session — For Farmers. — Algebra, Conic Sections, Agriculture, His- 
tory, English Literature, Moral Philosophy, Astronomy, Book-keeping. 

For Mechanics. — Algebra, Conic Sections, Mechanics, Mechanical Draw- 
ing, History, English Literature, Moral Philosophy, Astronomy, Book- 
keeping. 

*Tliis estimate includes board, tuition, fuel, liglus, room rent, washing-, books, and a 
uniform suit. 



16 

Students who are properly prepared will have the opportunity to pursue a more 
advanced course of study. 

Instruction in Military Tactics is given throughout the course, from which no 
student is exempt unless physically disabled; and each student not so exempt is re- 
quired to provide himself with the prescribed uniform as soon as he enters the 
college. 

Manual labor on the farm or in the workshops is required of the students only in 
so far as is necessary for their tliorough instruction in those technicalities, and it is 
believed that it will not exceed two hours a week for each student. 

COMPENSATED EXTKA LABOR. 

In the erection of college buildings, farm buildings, fences, bridges, &c. ; in the 
care of live stock, of a garden, of a dairy, &c. ; in the carpenter's and blacksmith's 
shops; in the management of steam motive-power and of apparatus for furnishing 
heat, light and water; there will be much work which can be done by students spe- 
cially fitted for these different employments by previous practice or extraordinary 
intelligence and diligence, and to such a good compensation can be allowed for time 
so sjjent. The experience of other institutions gives warning that no one should 
expect to support himself at college wholly by his labor, and very few can earn any 
large part of the necessary expenses ; but it may be stated, for the encouragement of 
those who are willing to practice great industry and economy, that students have 
proven during the session just closed that it is possible to reduce the cost of food and 
lodging to five dollars per month, to pay the greater part of that by extra hand-work, 
and yet at the same time to maintain an excellent standing in their classes, and win 
numerous certificates of distinction. 

For further information, address 

C. L. C. MINOR, President, 
Blackshurg, Montgomery County, Virginia. 



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